How to avoid Digital Stress
We are living in the Data Era. Everything certainly around us is digital. Even our refrigerators are digital these days. They can tell us when certain foods are running low.
All this constant bombard of data can eventually get overwhelming and even lead to digital stress…It is interesting, I was thinking I was coining a new word here ‘Digital stress’ only to discover that it is certainly a phrase that exists…doh, there goes a potential patent.
Well back to digital reality, we need to be in control of the data we access rather than data being in control of us and our lives.
Few years ago I decided to end my relationship with Facebook for a few good reasons at the time. One being that I found I was constantly drawn to the notifications and posts as they sprung up on the hour every hour like mushrooms. Well to be honest, I was checking several times in an hour.
I realized I had a problem, a serious issue that I needed to address hence forthwith!
Being purposeful of why you are using Social Media
Although I demanded a divorce from Facebook, we settled for a separation. (I have since got back on Facebook although with a new ID). This time I had to establish what was my purpose for using Facebook and keep strenuously to that mandate as I call it. Come on, now, don’t read this like I am writing hieroglyphics or something foreign. You all go on Facebook breaks so you know precisely what I am talking about.
So here are some of the things I did and also here are some tips on how I cut back on digital stress
With Facebook, I decided that it was best Facebook and I agreed our terms. I wanted Facebook to use mainly for church driven activities. That meant I really was not going to be drawn into holiday shots, selfies and other things that I spent precious time purring over.
So that meant, my friends list was carefully ‘handpicked’ (no, I will make you my friend if you sent a request).
Next, I did not post all those personal photos and things that got people commenting for hours whilst they ooh and ahhed over my photos. And I checked on the hour every hour to see how popular I was doing. Talk about vanity.
Also the fact that my photo could end up on anyone’s phone or server or device, to be brought up 50 years from now, did not quite catch my fancy.
I also did not tag people at a whim because I practically hated being tagged too. ‘Nuff said’ on that matter!
Not joining every Social Media on the planet
I did not see the reason I had to join every social media platform just so that I could give another person my social media ID of that app. The more social medias I joined, the more time it would mean and that would just complicate life further.
And also turning off notifications was never a problem solver. One would still go and check to see if someone had posted something. So why give myself more temptation I figured?
Not signing to every Email subscriptions
Okay, okay, okay… I know we have an email subscription which I would still encourage you to sign to (we don’t post every hour on the hour but once a month on average). However if you are not into email subscriptions that is OK and understandable.
I know that often we want a freebie which attracts signing up for an email subscription (we don’t do that on this site). But what that means is that at the end of the month you have 562 unopened emails from all these subscriptions. Then you need to go through your email box to find out which email you really want to read (often skipping that important one that you wanted).
You don’t need to be constantly connected
You don’t need to be constantly connected all the time. It is OK to switch off the phone now and again. If ‘they’ don’t get hold of you, you will see the text, message or post later at your set time.
You don’t need to wake up in the middle of the night to find out how many likes you had to an Instagram post. Your worth is not dependent on likes, shares or how many ‘friends’ you have amassed on social media.
What counts is your emotional and mental health. And that must be protected at all costs.
If you really enjoy this website, you can still subscribe to our email subscriptions. 🙂 We send out posts monthly/bi-monthly, sharing our thoughts and some ‘personal’ things and tips not shared on this site.
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